Asian Biosecurity Policies Highlighted

Biosecurity policies and practices of Asian life science labs were highlighted at the March 6-7, 2007, conference: Developing Options for Global Biosecurity: Assessing Progress and Evaluating New Mechanisms. The event was sponsored by the Partnership for Global Security and supported by The Carnegie Corporation of New York (NY, USA).

Dr. Tamara Zemlo was among sixteen invited speakers at the conference, the objective of which was to define the critical issues associated with developing an integrated global biosecurity network. During the first day of the two-day conference, participants sought to examine the scope of existing biosecurity activities and initiatives, outline the new challenges arising from the rapid growth of the biotechnology sector around the globe, and consider a wide range of ideas that can facilitate the harmonization of global biosecurity approaches and mechanisms.

As Dr. Zemlo commented, Biosafety level [BSL] 2 practices are often employed for research involving BSL 3 agents. Human immunodeficiency virus [HIV], Japanese encephalitis, avian influenza, and severe acute respiratory syndrome [SARS] should be studied typically under BSL 3 practices; however the majority of respondents to our study use BSL 2 precautions for these dangerous pathogens. In her presentation, Dr. Zemlo profiled the types of infectious agents studied, risk perceptions of researchers working with key infectious agents, the management of biosecurity regulations, and biosecurity practices in Asian countries.

The presentation highlighted the results of a 2006 study conducted for Sandia U.S. National Laboratories by research and consulting firm Bioinformatics (Arlington, VI, USA). The report outlined practices in Asia, Latin America, Eastern Europe, and the Middle East. Based on responses from scientists in sixteen Asian countries, the report found that the safety measures may be inadequate, particularly the use of the appropriate biosafety level.



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